1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to refrigerators and, more particularly, to a refrigerator which is provided with a refrigerator compartment thereof with a temperature-controlled chamber which is maintained at a predetermined temperature using cool air of a freezer compartment, thus allowing items to be stored at a predetermined temperature between a temperature of the refrigerator compartment and a temperature of the freezer compartment; and a method to cool such a refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known to those skilled in the art, a refrigerator is an appliance which stores various kinds of food items for a lengthy period of time, by supplying cool air from an evaporator to a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment so as to maintain the freshness of the food items for a lengthy period of time. The freezer compartment is used for storing food items which must be maintained at a temperature below their freezing temperature, such as meat, fish and ice cream. On the other hand, the refrigerator compartment is used for storing food items which must be maintained at a low temperature, but at a temperature above their freezing temperature, such as vegetables, fruits, and various kinds of beverages.
Recently, a preference for a large-capacity refrigerator has increased, because a large quantity of foods are stored in the large-capacity refrigerator, thus providing convenience to a consumer. The large-capacity refrigerator has a side-by-side structure, which is provided on one side with a freezer compartment and on its other side with a refrigerator compartment. The refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are provided with a plurality of shelves and drawers so as to easily store a large quantity of foods in the refrigerator.
Thus, the refrigerator compartment stores vegetables or fruits at a low temperature above their freezing temperature to keep the vegetables or fruits fresh without freezing them. Meanwhile, the freezer compartment freezes and stores perishable meat or fish, thus allowing the meat or fish to be preserved for a lengthy period of time.
When one desires to cook meat or fish stored in the freezer compartment, the meat or fish must be thawed for a lengthy period of time because the meat or fish stored in the freezer compartment are frozen.
Thus, in the case of meat or fish that have been stored for a while, the meat or fish should not be completely frozen so as to be easily and rapidly cooked. The conventional refrigerator has only the refrigerator compartment, which is maintained at a temperature above the freezing temperature, in addition to the freezer compartment. The refrigerator compartment, however, is not cold enough to be suitable for a long storing of meat or fish.
Further, the conventional refrigerator has a problem in that the refrigerator compartment is frequently opened or closed. Thus, an interior of the refrigerator compartment is not maintained at a proper temperature as a temperature variation thereof is undesirably great, thus not maintaining the freshness of meat or fish stored therein.